Cleaning agents specially made for removal of oils from substrates are called degreasers. These may be solvent based or solvent containing and may also have surfactants as active ingredients. The solvents have a dissolving action on grease and oils. The solvent containing degreaser may have an alkaline washing agent added to the solvent to promote further degreasing.
Alkaline washing agents contain strong bases like sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. The alkali agents dissolve grease, oils, fats and protein based deposits. However, a disadvantage of the strong alkaline washing agents is that they are typically far from being environmentally benign. Alkaline washing agents are strong bases that need special storage and evacuation logistics and need to be deposited in secured authorized dumps.
There is therefore a need to provide highly efficient cleaning solutions for cleaning oils and polluted industrial parts that dissolve and dismantle heavy duty grease, oils and other organic pollutants. Furthermore, there is a need to provide cleaning solutions that will be hazard free and environmentally benign. It would be highly advantageous to provide such environmentally benign cleaning solutions that may be dumped in sewage systems and may be cost effectively treated and reused.